Will Beats Help Apple Find Its Marketing Rhythm?

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) recent acquisition of Beats Electronics may have given it more than just a premium headphone maker and subscription music streaming service. Recent tweets from two prominent Apple executives praising Beats’ latest advertisement suggests that the Cupertino, California-based company may have also gained inspiration for a new marketing direction. As seen in the video clip above, Beats’ “The Game Before The Game” ad focuses on the FIFA World Cup that kicks off with a match in Sao Paulo on Thursday.

On Monday, Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue tweeted, “As a huge sports fan, I love ‘The Game Before The Game.’” CEO Tim Cook also hailed the commercial in a tweet on Wednesday. “The Game Before The Game. The team at #Beats captures it perfectly,” said Cook. “A must watch before #World Cup.”

While the Apple executives’ praise for the Beats commercial could be dismissed as corporate backscratching related to the company’s $3 billion purchase of Beats, it should be noted that the comments come amid reports that the iPhone maker is shifting its overall marketing strategy. Last week, “people with knowledge of the matter” cited byBloomberg revealed that Apple had created an in-house television advertising team in order to have better control of its brand image and product marketing.

Apple’s creation of a new internal ad team reveals a rift between the iPhone maker and its longtime ad agency, Media Arts Lab. Media Arts Lab is a unit of Omnicom Group’s (NYSE:OMC) TBWA\Chiat\Day ad agency that is responsible for some of Apple’s most memorable advertisements, including the iconic “1984” Super Bowl commercial and the “Think Different” campaign.